There was only one thing that could stain his delight. He drew back gently from the embrace. “Your stepfather still hates me.” What if Rufus tried to prevent them from getting married?
“Yes.” She gave a raspy sigh. “He may never like you, but I think I can convince him to tolerate you.”
He grinned. Where Rufus was concerned, toleration would have to be enough. He put an arm around her shoulders and led her from the empty house, into the sunlight outside.
Chapter 28
“Absolutelynot.”Rufusgloweredat Max from across his desk.
Volusia sighed. She’d been afraid that her stepfather would be stubborn about their betrothal. She’d tried to convince Max to let her put forward the proposal on her own, knowing that Max’s presence tended to inflame Rufus, but he’d insisted that the honorable thing to do was to ask for her hand himself.
Max wasn’t making any efforts to endear himself to Rufus, though. He was sprawling languidly in a chair, his long legs stretched out before him and his hands clasped loosely over his stomach. She wished he could try to look a little more deferential.
Rufus continued. “I will not consent to my stepdaughter marrying this, this—”
Max straightened up. “Man who saved her life not once, but twice?” He cast a meaningful glance at the bruises on Volusia’s neck, now faded to shadows after a week. “What more could you want in a son-in-law?”
Volusia cleared her throat. “Father, allow me to remind you that I don’t need your consent to marry Max. According to the terms of Avitus’s will, I am emancipated, free to do what I wish.”
Rufus’s eyes darkened. She could tell that he knew it was true, knew that he couldn’t stand in her way, and he hated it.
She softened her voice. “But I do want your blessing, because I love you, and I want us all to be a family. I love Max, and I know he’s the right man for me.”
Max grinned smugly.
Rufus leaned forward, his gaze intent upon her face. She recognized the posture as the one he used when he was trying to negotiate, to broker a deal, to convince a fellow politician of something. “My dear, are you sure there are no better options you wish to consider? I heard that the consul Hortensius had expressed interest. He’s a fine man, with excellent prospects. Think of all the doors he could open for Lucius.”
“Yes, but I don’t love him,” she replied. “I spent ten years married to a man who never truly loved me, nor I him. I want something different for the rest of my life. I want to love and be loved without restraint, without condition.” Tears rose to her eyes. That would work in her favor—Rufus hated seeing her cry.
Max reached over to gently brush away a tear as it rolled down her cheek. “I hope this is the only time you’ll cry on my account.”
She caught his hand and held it. “These are happy tears, my love.”
Rufus grimaced and made a noise of disgust. “Fine,” he ground out. “You have my blessing. On two conditions.”
Volusia had risen to her feet to hug him, but paused. “Yes?”
“First, you must wait the customary ten months after your first husband’s death to remarry.”
“Ten months?” Max exclaimed. “That’s an eternity.”
Volusia shot him a quelling look. It was a reasonable condition, after all. “It’s already been nearly two months since Avitus died. So it’s only eight months.”
He grumbled but said nothing.
“The second condition?” Volusia asked.
“Lucius must agree to this as well,” Rufus said. “I don’t want my grandson to be saddled with a stepfather he dislikes.”
Volusia nodded. “That’s fair.” It could present a problem, as Max and Lucius were different as could be—Max gregarious and irreverent, Lucius studious and disciplined. But she felt certain that if she could show Lucius why she loved Max, he’d grow to love Max too.
“Then I suppose we are agreed,” Rufus said reluctantly.
Volusia walked around the desk to hug him. “Thank you, Father. This means a great deal to me.”
He kissed her forehead. “You know you will always have a place here if—or when—you tire of your choice.”
“I’m sure I won’t, but thank you.” She kissed him on the cheek. Despite his high-handed ways, she knew her stepfather had only her best interests at heart. He and Max were more alike than they knew, and she hoped one day, they’d grow to realize that.
